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Saturday, February 2, 2013

Have you ever found yourself staring at your computer
wanting to write, but you just can’t put together an idea? Have you ever found
yourself clutching your pen, wishing that somehow it would just write the book
itself? No inspiration? No legible thoughts? Lost in the world of writer’s block?

I know how you feel: hopeless, lost. Annoyed that your brain
won’t do what you want. You feel like there isn’t any way to get over it. Well,
I’ll let you in on a few secrets I use to say, “ADIOS, WRITER’S BLOCK!”

Write. (Ha-ha, good
one, Emily. Wait, you’re not joking?) This might sound silly, I mean, you’re
in a writer’s block that means you
can’t write. Wrong! Writer’s block can’t stop you from writing; it only stops you from gathering enough inspiration needed
to write something decent for other people to read. This doesn’t mean you can’t
write. Write about anything; the trees, your day, how you hate your eyebrows,
how you wish you could be a ninja, your love of llamas. Write anything! Push
yourself. Make yourself write.

Music. Plug yourself in and ignore the world for a while.
Bust out a few funky dance moves—loosen up! Listen to sad music, happy music,
punk, classical, rock, pop, alternative, anything that floats your boat. Turn
it up so loud that you block out your dog’s barking, mom calling, neighbors fighting
(Yes, you must give up gossip if you want
to write). Tune yourself in with the music.

Walks. I always find walking a nice way to clear my mind.
Walk to a park and get on the swing, walk to the end of the road, walk past
your crushes house a few times until he/she notices you (not too many or you’ll look like a stalker. That would not help!)
Walk to a river, lake, stream. Walk under falling leaves, snow, rain. Anywhere.
Walk and clear your mind! Breathe in that fresh air and scream out “I CAN
WRITE! I CAN DO THIS!” (Note: this isn’t
the smartest plan if you’re a) in a public area [the stares you get are just…]
or b) with your crush. They’ll probably think you’re crazy.)

If all else fails, there are the last two options: scream
into your pillow while narrating a fight scene involving majestic llamas in your
head (or any creature/human of your choice!) ,
or (AVOID THIS ONE!) crying.

Those are just a few tips from personal experience. I hope
they help you in some way, shape or form. Good luck and happy writing!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Have you ever come close to these shops that have hard bound bundles of paper? They happen to have titles written along the length of the spine? Yes, those are what happen to be called "books". These are creatures borne of a writer's mind and usually involve twisted plots and characters in order to make the reader interested.

I'm sure you've at least read one or two during your life time, and that may even be because school has a mandatory need for all students to read a couple of choice novels. For instance, "How to kill a mockingbird" is often read during the tenth grade. Well, in Canada at least.

Now, these books are not to be feared. They are actually quite helpful for those of you on your way to becoming full-fledged writers. (I didn't say author for a reason here). What these books will really help you do is :

I. develop your vocabulary and your comprehension of character development and plot lines.

II. inspire your own creative genius to blossom from the depths of your mind.

and III. give you a model to follow after.

I'm not saying that any novel you read should heavily influence your writing, and that you should copy it line per line. I mean to say that this novel that you've just read will help be a guide to structure and a means to help you draw out your own inner voice (more on the inner voice later).

So, the gist of this post is mainly to explaint that books are not to be feared.

If you plan on becoming an author any time soon, the thing you need to do most (the most basic of rules) is to READ! Reading is the best way to understand the audience that you will try to appeal to. Reading is the way to try and discern what the writer is thinking and what they did to elicit a certain reaction from their audiences.